Instant Pot Bone-In Chicken Breasts (From Fresh or Frozen)
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If you need a delicious dinner in a flash, this Instant Pot bone-in chicken recipe is for you. Easy and tasty, this chicken is unbelievable juicy!
Whether you’re an Instant Pot pro or scored one during the holiday season, you’ll love this tender chicken breast recipe. Maybe you’re thinking, chicken breast is always so dry. Think again! This method leaves your chicken tender and succulent. Even if you forgot to thaw your meat ahead of time (oops!), in under half-an-hour this bone-in chicken breast will be ready to eat (Instant Pot can cook chicken straight from frozen).
Bone-in skin-on chicken breast tends to retain moisture better than boneless skinless one. With just a dash of salt and pepper, this dinner-time favorite goes into the Instant Pot. No need for standing over a frying pan, marinating, or pounding. This dish is as easy as seasoning and placing your chicken breasts into the Instant Pot. That’s it!
This easy-to-prepare Instant Pot bone-in chicken is great for those who meal prep. You don’t have to spend hours every weekend in the kitchen to prepare healthy meals for the week ahead. With this quick and delicious recipe, you can prepare bone-in chicken in no time. Chicken is a wonderful source of lean protein. This recipe doesn’t add in extra fats or carbohydrates, making it a healthy and easy choice in the kitchen!
Dry chicken breasts are a thing of the past with this fast and easy recipe. Tender and juicy, this chicken breast provides lean protein while tasting great. This Instant Pot method is my favorite way to cook chicken breasts, you’re sure to love it, too. Rich in vitamins and minerals that boost immunity and regulate digestion, chicken has a reputation for being bland. Not with this recipe! Using this Instant Pot recipe makes flavorful, juicy chicken breasts that will satisfy and amaze. If you haven’t tried cooking your chicken in an Instant Pot, this recipe will leave you impressed. Juicy and tender, this bone-in chicken breast recipe will be done in no time. If you’re hesitant to cooking chicken without oil, think again. Your chicken doesn’t have to be fried to taste incredible. Keep it healthy and quick without sacrificing flavor using your Instant Pot.
It only takes minutes to go from freezer to table with this dish. With only four easy steps, this bone-in chicken is tasty and filling without the fuss of breading. Start with rubbing your chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Next, add water and your bone-in chicken breasts to the Instant Pot then close and seal the lid. Fresh bone-in chicken breast only takes ten minutes on High pressure! Even frozen bone-in chicken breast is quick, taking only twenty-five minutes to cook on High pressure. Naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining steam and you’re done!
Looking for some added crispy skin? Broil your bone-in chicken breasts for three to five minutes and you’ll feel like you’re eating fried chicken without the added mess and oil.
Once you cooked this bone-in chicken breast in your Instant Pot, you can chop it up and transform into these meals:
- Instant Pot Salsa Chicken – mix it with a jar of salsa for a Mexican Twist!
- Instant Pot Honey Mustard Chicken – this homemade honey-mustard sauce is so mouthwatering!
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken – mix the cooked chicken pieces with BBQ sauce for a crowd-pleasing BBQ chicken!
Also, save the bones from these bone-in chicken breasts and use them to make Instant Pot bone broth!
Browse my whole Instant Pot recipe collection for Instant Pot recipes that always work!
Instant Pot Bone-In Chicken Breast (From Fresh or Frozen)
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 2 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
- 1 cup water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Recommended Kitchen Tools (click the links below to see the items used to make this recipe)
Instructions
- Rub the chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
- Add water and chicken breasts to the Instant Pot (you can use the trivet or put them directly in the water).
- Close the lid of the Instant Pot and turn the valve to a Sealing position. Press the "Pressure Cook" or "Manual" button and set the time to 10 minutes on High pressure for fresh chicken breasts or 25 minutes for frozen.
- When it's done cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release (QR) the remaining steam.
Notes
Nutrition
You hit this recipe right on. Pulled the skin off, meat fell right off the bone, sliced nicely. Moist, succulent meat. I cooked 12 mins ’cause I’m at altitude. Also my breasts were huge ( we refer to them as “dinosaur ” breasts!) Made in 3qt mini, 1 breast, plenty for 2.
Thank you, Melanie
Thank you! So easy and just perfect. I added a bit of lemon.
I used the Trivet…I thought they might be waterlogged if cooked/boiled directly in the water. The Breasts turned out perfect. I then put BBQ sauce on them…and under the broiler, about 4 minutes on each side.
I made these breasts last night and they were excellent! Thanks.
Also, I must say you chose the very best chicken. I buy “Pine Manor” chicken at my Whole Foods in Chicago. It is the absolute best tasting chicken I’ve had in years. I think it is from Iowa. I haven’t found it at other Whole Foods only Lincoln Park Chicago.
Very moist and perfectly cooked bone-in chicken breasts made w/o trivet. Skin wasn’t mushy soft so didn’t broil. Second time, marinated 2 breasts with bottled Italian salad dressing for 4 hours, placed two breasts on trivet, added 1 cup water with a splash of salad dressing and white wine. Quartered 3 medium size Yukon golds and placed on top of breasts. Sauce steamed through potatoes giving them an herbed taste. Melanie, your recipes are the best and cook times are spot on! Thank you!
Perfect, I used 1 cup of white wine and a lot of seasoning, and after cooking in pressure cooker I broiled them until skin was crispy, the liquid left over made an excellent sauce with a bit of thickening, served with steamed kale and Quinoa
I rubbed a mix of Italian herb mix, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper under the skin, seared them for about 2 minutes on each side and then cooked in instant pot following your directions. They turned out great! Thanks for this recipe!
Delicious, juicy and fast! Thank you for a good recipe! Have made it twice and loved it! I used 1 1/2c water made a great broth for other things!
If I wanted to cook 4 chicken breast would I have to increase the cooking time?
I think the cooking time would stay the same. If you try it, please let me know how it turned out!
I did increase time for 4 breasts, to 16 minutes with NPR, but mine were huge skin-on, bone-in breasts (about 3.8-4 lb total I think), and I wanted *shredded* chicken for another dish rather than to serve whole i.e., I wanted it to come off bones easily but not for the bones to fall off in the pot, so I was willing to cook a bit longer, but not the 20-25 minutes I use if I know I’m going to pull out large pieces and then strain out the broth. For flavor, I sautéed an onion and 6 cloves of garlic first, added the S/P-seasoned breasts on top, dumped in a few coarsely chopped stalks of celery, 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme (scrounged from under the snow!) and some torn fresh rosemary, which I bought since my fresh rosemary is long gone. I poured over about a 1/2-cup white wine/1/2-cup water and set pressure for 16 minutes. The meat pulled away from skin and bone easily, so I was able to make sure my shredded chicken didn’t have any cartilage or (sorry) veins. If I wanted to serve whole bone-in breasts this large, I’d just go with about 12 minutes and broil them after to crisp the skins, and if I wanted it falling off the bones and super easy to shred, I might give it at least an extra 4-5 minutes. In this case, I’m going to marinate the shredded chicken for an hour in pineapple juice and soy sauce then reheat with other ingredients, so I didn’t want it overdone either.
I cooked 4 large chicken breasts (4.75 lb) for 10 minutes, and they were all cooked through.
How much water???
1 cup, it says in the recipe card.
I want to add fresh potatoes and some sliced frozen carrots How would you modify?
This is my first try at cooking with Instant Pot!!
If you are cooking fresh (not frozen) chicken breasts, you can add carrots and potatoes together with the chicken.
Excellent! Took the frozen chicken out of the deep freezer. Seasoned and followed the directions. Cooked 25 minutes and let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Cooked all the way through! Using the chicken for my chicken-broccoli bread so this is perfect!
Best chicken breast recipe! Super super moist! Don’t change anything!
Followed recipe exactly for thawed, bone in breasts with skin, including crisping skin in broiler for 5 min. Perfect pressure timing and had a dinner ready in 30 min that was nice enough to serve to guests! Moist & looked great; held shape, just like pictures.
It worked perfectly. I made 3 of the huge breasts they sell these days, and got a ton of flavorful, moist chicken to use for several recipes. This is so much better than cooking the boneless breasts.
I cooked 3 big breasts with rib meat (bone in), put it on 12 minutes because they are kind of thick. came out juicy and perfect. Thank you!
Just tried this and it was phenomenal!
Used chicken broth, a little white wine as liquid, seasoned with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, a little garlic/parsley mix, used trivet, 12 minutes because my chicken breasts were huge, like 1.15 lbs each x 2, 10 minute natural release. Coated with sugar free barbecue sauce, put in my large toaster oven for 4 minutes a side.
Fantastic! Meat fell of bone, tasted ? ?! Left liquid in instapot on saute, stirred in sifted wheat flour, turned out great! Even my picky wife loved it. Clean up was very easy.
Definitely will make this many more times!
Thanks for this recipe!
This is excellent, I’ve done my chicken exactly this way several times now, always juicy and perfect. Won’t ever go back to the boneless!
This website is perfect for beginners like me who want to learn how to cook quick and delicious meals
This recipe is very flexible with me… the cooking times can be adapted based on the size of the chicken breasts or for my personal preferences.